Commutator disk for zip code sorting

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for affixing address labels to articles to be mailed or to mailing pieces. The apparatus is characterized by the provision of control means for separating the articles to be mailed into zip code groups or the like. The control comprises a device for clocking zip code information into the control which device is insensitive to inherent machine vibrations which in prior art devices could cause double clocking of the information and therefore improper zip code separation of the mailing pieces.

United States Patent [1 1 Hutner et al.

[ Dec. 31, 1974 COMMUTATOR DISK FOR ZIP CODE SORTING Inventors: Mark A. Hutner, Glenview, [1].;

Raymond A. Wilmes, Genoa City,

Wis.

Assignee: Xerox Corporation, Stamford,

Conn.

Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 Appl. No.: 402,213

US. Cl. 250/556, 250/557 Int. Cl. G0ln 21/30 Field of Search 250/206, 555, 556, 557,

250/568, 578, 328; 235/6l.1l E; 340/1463 R References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,566,085 2/l97l Nagata 250/555 X o /74 yl/ss 30 I 0 I70 30 3,604,935 9/1971 Nather 250/328 Primary Examiner-James W. Lawrence Assistant ExaminerDavis L. Willis [5 7 ABSTRACT Apparatus for affixing address labels to articles to be mailed or to mailing pieces. The apparatus is characterized by the provision of control means for separating the articles to be mailed into zip code groups or the like. The control comprises a device for clocking zip code information into the control which device is insensitive to inherent machine vibrations which in prior art devices could cause double clocking of the information and therefore improper zip code separation of the mailing pieces.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures lli-lllll PATENTED DECB 1 I974 SHEET 2 OF 4 FIG. 2

PATENTED DEEBI I974 SHEET 30F 4 PATENTED 3,858,054

SHEET 0F 4 /70 I80 SCANNER AMP v/-2*30 SHIFT REGISTER 1 j ENABLE OUT CELL AMP SET 224-FL|P FLOP /86 v 227 RESET CLOCK CELL AMP 232 222 254 SHIFT EE' REGISTER LOCKOUT FI/G. 4

COMMUTATOR DISK FOR ZIP CODE SORTING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to addressing apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus for controlling the addressing apparatus in accordance with zip code information, particularly wherein a change zip code occurs between successive labels on a label form.

In the process of affixing address labels to articles to be mailed, for example, envelopes, magazines, etc., an individual address label is affixed to each article. The source of such labels, in the type of apparatus herein contemplated, comprises a computer printed label form which contains address labels in columns and rows. The number of labels contained in either may vary, in the case of the former, as a function of the length of the computer printout and in the case of the latter from one to four by way of example. The addresses are printed in alphabetical order in rows from left to right for a particular zip code group.

In the process of handling articles to be mailed, it is desirable to identify zip code groupings of such articles and to effect automatic operation of the labeling apparatus in accordance with such identification. For example, the identification of the last label in a zip code group may be used to effect offsetting of the article to which that label is affixed. Alternatively, the last article may be marked with a marking pen or the apparatus may be momentarily stopped in order to provide a gap on a conveyor belt between successive groupings.

Various schemes have been devised to identify the zip code information with subsequent control of the apparatus in accordance therewith, however, they have been such as to be sensitive to inherent jitter or backlash in the apparatus.

Accordingly, it is the principle object of this invention to provide a new and improved address labeling apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for identifying zip code information and controlling the operation of the apparatus in accordance therewith.

Still another object of this invention is to provide, in a label addressing apparatus, zip code sorting mechanism which comprises an information clocking device which is insensitive to inherent machine jitter or vibrations and backlash.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide in a labeling apparatus, zip code sorting mechanism including a clocking device comprising a photocell triggering device which can be utilized for any feed length of label form.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-cited objects are accomplished by the provision of a control including a mechanism for clocking coded information into the control.

The clocking mechanism comprises a photocell triggering device which is moved in timed relation to the feed of a computer printed label form. The form contains in the margin thereof, coded information which identifies changes in zip code and where in a row of labels the change in zip code occurs. The photocell triggering device is moved so that for each cycle of operation thereof three lines of identifying information are clocked.

In order to render the clocking device insensitive to inherent machine vibrations, a pair of photocells are employed, one for enabling the reading of the coded information and a second, adjacently disposed one for clocking the information into the control. In this manner, if machine vibrations occur at the time of reading of the coded information which, in prior art devices could cause the information to be read a second time, it will have no effect since the clocking photocell will have not been triggered.

The photocell triggering device is operatively associated with the ratchet feed mechansim for feeding the label form and is therefore reciprocated therewith. The photocells are adjustably mounted relative to the starting position of the triggering device consequently, different feed lengths of the label form can be accommodated by the same triggering mechanism.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the ensuing description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a labeling head for use in an addressing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the labeling head of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the head illustrated in FIG. 1 and as viewed from the left in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic or diagramatic illustration of a control for the labeling head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a labeling head 21 which as will be recognized by those skilled in the art is adapted to carve a computer printed label form into individual labels and affix them to articles to be mailed. To this end, a table-like base or frame (not shown) having suitable mechanism for feeding articles to be labeled cooperates with a labeling head 21. The articles to be labeled are fed beneath a label transfer wheel 20 with subsequent movement to a suitable collector or take'away conveyor (not shown).

The labeling head 21 includes a suitable frame portion 24 having a wing-like extension 24 which carries label feeding and cutting apparatus for supplying the aforementioned individual labels to the transfer wheel 20 as will appear. The transfer wheel is supported above the aforementioned table-like base or frame by a shaft 23, shaft 23 being, in turn, suitably journaled in the frame portion 24. The shaft is driven in synchronism with articles to be labeled as well as with the supply of the individual labels. The transfer wheel 20 rotates counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 1, therefore, the article to be labeled are fed from left to right as viewed therein. Transfer wheel 20 carries one or more radially projecting shoes 26 for bringing individual labels 30 into physical contact with the articles passing below the transfer wheel.

The labeling head 2l is designed for use with a computer printed label form 31 which comprises address information contained in multiple columns and rows, the former of which extend in the direction of form feed and the latter of which extend transversly thereto. The label form 31 is provided with side margins 33 containing perforations 33 which corporate with form feed tractors 35, 35 of the head 21 to feed the label form from the top to the bottom as viewed in FIG. 2. The margins 33 are removed by trim knives 70,

(FIG. 2). A label carving or cutting apparatus comprises a knife means in the form of a guillotine 34 operatively supported for reciprocal movement on a wing portion 24' of the labeling head 21. Guillotine 34 functions to cut the form 31 transversly to its direction of movement between successive rows of labels to thereby provide strips 32 of uncut labels equal in number to the number of label columns. Guillotine 34 is actuated by an eccentric shaft 121 which is driven from the shaft 23 through a change gear set 162 as will appear. The severed label strip 32 discharged from the guillotine 32 comes to rest on a trackway 38 which extends along side the guillotine 34 in line with the transfer wheel 20.

A feed roll pair 39, 40 adjacent the down stream end of the trackway 38 serves to advance the label strip 32 along trackway 38 and in to the nip of a rotary knife 41 To prevent interference, roll 39 is supported from guillotine 34 through link 37. Feed rollers 39, 40 and rolls 42, 43 of the rotary knife 41 are positively driven from shaft 23 by suitable means (not shown).

Rotary knife 41 includes a knife blade 42' carried by knife roll 42. The cutting edges of blade 42 corporate with the surface of adjoining anvil roll 43 to sever the label strip 32 therebetween. Rolls 42, 43 serve to advance label strip 32 forward one address at a time, the non-feeding portion of roll 42 being undercut at 45 to limit the strip feeding action to one address which corresponds to the width of the plural columns making up the strip 32.

Cut labels leaving rotary knife 41 are picked off by shoe 26 of transfer wheel 20, there being provided suitable vacuum hold down means (not shown) in shoe 26 effective to attract and temporarily hold the labels on the shoe periphery. The individual labels are brought by shoe 26 into transfer contact with articles moving thereunder.

The vacuum supply to shoe 26 of wheel 20 is controlled by a vacuum distributing valve mechanism 19 in a manner known to those skilled in the art, valve 19 serving to admit vacuum to shoe 26 in time for shoe 26 to pick off the label discharge by the rotary knife assembly 41 and to terminate vacuum thereto on or subsequent to transfer of the label therefrom. In this connection, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the address bearing labels 30 may be physically transferred to the articles 12 by use of a suitable adhesive. In this instance the vacuum supply to shoe 26 may be terminated on transfer. Alternately, the address information only may be transferred and in this mode of operation, vacuum to shoe 26 is preferrably sustained long enough to carry the used labels away from the transfer area.

As pointed out hereinabove, the form feed tractors 35, 35' feed the label form. This is accomplished by means of suitable shafts and'toothed drive wheel chains none of which are shown herein, however, they are disclosed in copending application ser. no. 153,324 filed June 15, 1971 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,485 in the name of Dean S. Kercher and assigned to the assignee of the instant application. Other elements of the tractor drive or form feed tractors cooperate with the foregoing components to provide for intermittent feed of the form 31. Such operation of the feed tractors is accomplished through an adjustable ratchet 158 connected to one end of a drive link 159. The other end of the drive link 159 is eccentrically mounted to a collar 120 carried by the eccentric shaft 121. The eccentric shaft 121 is driven by a head transfer shaft 160 through a connecting belt 16]. The transfer shaft 160 is driven from labeling head drive shaft 23 through a change gear set generally indicated by reference character 162. For a detailed description of the ratchet mechanism 158, change gear set 162 and the interrelationship with the labeling head drive shaft 23, reference may be had to the aforementioned copending application and U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,585 issued in the name H. V. Kirk, et al. and assigned to Xerox Incorporated.

The eccentric link 159 is attached to the collar 120 by a pin member 163 carried in a block 164 which is slidable in a slot 165 provided in the collar 120. It should be appreciated that the foregoing arrangement allows the connection point of the link 159 to be varied relative to the center of the shaft 121 to thereby allow for driving the ratchet mechanism 158 through a longer or shorter stroke or cycle depending upon the length of label form which is to be fed for each cycle of the feed tractors 35, 35'. For example, with such an arrangement the label form can be fed one inch, one and a half inches or two inches etc. for each cycle.

As viewed in FIG. 2, the left hand margin 33, by way of illustration, is provided with coded indicia generally indicated 166 and 168 which is sensed by a photocell scanner 170 for the purpose of verifying that the form 31 is in proper registration as it is fed through the labeling head 21 and to indicate in which column, if any, there is a label which represents the last one of a zip code group. To this end, the indicia are arranged in two tracks or channels 172 and 174 of three lines. The first line read by the scanner in column 172 has an asterisk for verification of registration of form 31. If the scanner doesnt see this asterisk, the form may be either printed too lightly or skewed. The aforementioned asterisk appears for each row of labels. The scanner 170 may comprise any suitable commercially available device for sensing the indicia and generating electrical signals in response thereto.

Since in the form illustrated there are four labels or columns across the width of the form, it is necessary to use three lines for the coded indicia and both columns. When the second position of track 172 has an asterisk, label 1 (farthest to the left of HQ 2) is the last label in a zip code grouping. When the third position of track 172 has an asterisk, label number 2 is the last label in a zip code group. When the first line or position of track 174 has an asterisk the third label represents the last one in a zip code group and lastly, when the second position of track 174 is occupied by an asterisk the fourth or last label of the corresponding row is the last label in a zip code group] It will be appreciated that a row of four labels can contain more than one label representing the last label in a zip code group. Stated differently, a zip code group can contain a single label, consequently, each of the four labels in a single row could be the last label in a group. In such a case, the margin coding will be as depicted in FIG. 2 for the lowermost row of labels coded for purposes of illustration.

The electrical signals generated by the indicia indicative of the last label in a zip code group are utilized by a control generally indicated (FIG. 4) and are made available to the control by means of a clocking arrangement generally indicated by reference character 182 (FIG. 3). The clocking mechanism comprises a pair of photocells 184 and 186 and associated light sources contained in a mounting block 188 which block is carried by a variable position support bracket 190 pivotally supported at 192 and having an arcuate slot 194 in which a fastener 196 in the form of a screw, rides. It can be seen that by loosening the screw 196, the position of the photocell can be varied for reasons to be discussed hereinafter.

A commutator generally indicated 198 is operatively connected to the ratchet mechanism 158 for reciprocal movement therewith, first in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 and then in the reverse direction. The commutator comprises a base portion 200 to which a two position outboard member 202 is attached adjacent the free end thereof. The member 202 has a first group of fingers 204 and a second group 206, each group containing three fingers but with different spacing therebetween. The two groups of fingers are provided to accomodate different print spacing on the label form 31, therefore, either six or eight lines to the inch. Each set of three fingers corresponds to the three lines of coded information. in other words if three lines of coded indicia are to be read by the scanner 170, then the photocell 184 which enables the reading of such information must be interrupted three times during each cycle of operation. The other photocell 186 clocks the information read by the scanner 170 consequently once the enabled photocell 184 is actuated, if machine jitter or vibration should occur, the same information would not be read a second time since the clocking photocell would not have been actuated.

In the event that the length of label feed is to be varied, it is only necessary to reposition the photocells 184 and 186 so that the first finger of one group is in line with the photocell 184 simultaneously with the first line of coded indicia being in line with the scanner 170. Accordingly, it can be seen that a single commutator can be employed regardless of the operating stroke or cycle of the ratchet and feed tractors 35, 35'.

When the commutator 198 retraces its forward or clockwise movement, the fingers again move between the photocells and their light sources, consequently, in order to prevent erroneous control of the labeling head in response to sensed indicia, it is desirable to render the commutator l98 inoperative. To this end, a blanking cam and photocell arrangement 210 is provided which prevents transmitting of the signal generated in response to sensed indicia on the return stroke of the commutator 198. To this end, the blanking cam and its photocell are utilized to render the clocking by photocell 186 inoperative.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control 184 for effecting lockout of an article feeder 222 comprises a flip-flop 224 which is set by a pulse from the enable photocell 184 after suitable amplification by amplifier means 226. The flip-flop is reset by a pulse derived from the clocking photocell 186 after suitable amplification by amplifier means 227. The pulse derived from the resetting of the flip-flop 224 is transmitted to the imput of a shift register 228 thus allowing a signal derived from the scanner 170 which is amplified by amplifier means 230 to be put into the register 228. The output of the shift register 228 thus derived, is transmitted to a second, longer shift register 232 such that both shift registers contained the information derived from the scanner 170.

The shift register 232 is clocked at an input 234 thereof in accordance with the mailing pieces to be labeled at a rate of one clock pulse per mailing piece. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the interaction between the shift registers is in accordance with conventional techniques such as to derive a signal from the output 236 of the shift register 232 which corresponds to a mailing piece having been fed which represents the last piece in a zip code group. This output signal is effective to lockout the article feed for a predetermined period of time which results in providing a space between the last mailing piece in a zip code group and the first piece in the next group. It will be appreciated that while the control is employed to lock out the feed mechanism for the articles being labeled, other parts (not shown) capable for use with the apparatus could be controlled, for example, a marking pen could be employed to mark the last mailing piece in a zip code group or a mechanism for offsetting the last mailing piece in a zip code group could be pro vided.

While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a single embodiment, it will be appreciated that various modifications will be apparent without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying invention and it is, therefore, intended that such modifications be covered by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. Control apparatus for segregating mailing pieces according to zip code or the like information associated with labels to be applied to each of the mailing pieces wherein the labels are contained in a commutator printout form of labels and feed mechanism is provided for reciprocally feeding the form of labels various distances, said apparatus comprising:

means for clocking signals representative of said zip code information, including an enable photocell and a clocking photocell;

a commutator cooperating with said signal clocking means to effect actuation thereof, said commutator first actuating said enable photocell upon movement in a first direction; and

means for effecting relative reciprocal movement between said commutator and said signal clocking means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for rendering the actuation of said photocells ineffective during movement of said commutator in a second direction.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for moving said commutator comprises the drive means for said feed mechanism.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said commutator is adapted to actuate said photocells in accordance with various numbers of lines per inch of label form being fed.

5. Control apparatus for segregating mailing pieces according to zip code or the like information associated with labels to be applied to each of the mailing pieces wherein the labels are contained in a commutator printout form of labels and feed mechanism is provided for reciprocally feeding the form of labels various distances, said apparatus comprising:

means for clocking signals representative of said zip code information;

commutator means cooperating with said signal clocking means to effect actuation thereof;

tocells during operation are stationarily mounted and said adjusting means comprises means for varying the stationary position of said photocells whereby the required length of travel of said communtator is varied in accordance with the length of label to be fed. 

1. Control apparatus for segregating mailing pieces according to zip code or the like information associated with labels to be applied to each of the mailing pieces wherein the labels are contained in a commutator printout form of labels and feed mechanism is provided for reciprocally feeding the form of labels various distances, said apparatus comprising: means for clocking signals representative of said zip code information, including an enable photocell and a clocking photocell; a cOmmutator cooperating with said signal clocking means to effect actuation thereof, said commutator first actuating said enable photocell upon movement in a first direction; and means for effecting relative reciprocal movement between said commutator and said signal clocking means.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for rendering the actuation of said photocells ineffective during movement of said commutator in a second direction.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for moving said commutator comprises the drive means for said feed mechanism.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said commutator is adapted to actuate said photocells in accordance with various numbers of lines per inch of label form being fed.
 5. Control apparatus for segregating mailing pieces according to zip code or the like information associated with labels to be applied to each of the mailing pieces wherein the labels are contained in a commutator printout form of labels and feed mechanism is provided for reciprocally feeding the form of labels various distances, said apparatus comprising: means for clocking signals representative of said zip code information; commutator means cooperating with said signal clocking means to effect actuation thereof; means for effecting relative reciprocal movement between said commutator and said signal clocking means; and means for adjusting the relative movement of said signal clocking means and said commutator for accommodating different label feed lengths.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said photocells during operation are stationarily mounted and said adjusting means comprises means for varying the stationary position of said photocells whereby the required length of travel of said communtator is varied in accordance with the length of label to be fed. 